By Henry Groves
I’m not sure I have been at a show as highly anticipated as Self Esteem’s Brighton Dome show in a very long time. This seemed to be a show that everyone was talking about, and the numbers were piling in early to get a good spot at the front. Supports for the evening were Tom Rasmussen and Nuha Ruby Ra who both got the crowd dancing, ready for the headline act.
By the end of the second support, the room was buzzing, and the venue was now at full capacity. This show was announced and sold out nearly a year ago, where she has then been Brit Award nominated, mercury prize nominated and a contestant on Taskmaster (this is probably less important), and you could tell from the crowd that this show had been a long time waiting.
She opened with album-titled track ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ and the crowd needed no time to warm up, dancing and singing the lyrics back almost instantly. Her set was fast paced, filled with choreographed dance routines, 2 costume changes (including gimp suits for her backing troupe) and was a real showcase for her album (although there was still time for some older songs like ‘Girl Crush’)
The highlight for me was her last song of the set ‘I Do This All The Time”. This was one of my favourite songs of 2021, and has been a regular in playlists since its release. But, nothing will beat the performance live. The whole show was spectacularly designed, and even more spectacularly delivered, and there is undoubtedly greater things (and larger venues) waiting for Self Esteem in the not so distant future.
